You Jump, I Jump
by YinYang Warrior
Summary: A few nights after a war, Peter can handle his guilt no longer. He tries to jump of a cliff. What happens when Edmund shows up?


**A/N: This story just popped into my mind one night while I was trying to get to sleep, and I just had to type it down.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia.**

You Jump, I Jump

Peter sat on a cliff, his legs dangling over the edge. His hands were folded in his lap, and he was deep in thought.

The night sky was beautiful. The moon was full, and the stars were twinkling playfully. They were almost mocking him.

A gargantuan sense of guilt had been overwhelming Peter lately. He was the High King. He was Peter, the Magnificent. Then why was he so stupid? The last war they had fought had taken more out of them than Peter had wanted.

So many Narnians had died. Peter shuddered at the thought. The moans of the dying and the screams of the wounded were things that could scar someone, especially a child, for life.

Finally, Peter could take this no more. He stood.

He was just a burden.

Peter gazed down at the raging rapids and the rocks that were jutting hungrily out of the ground. He felt fear pulse through him, though it quickly faded.

Peter closed his eyes, then took a few steps backwards. He launched himself forward, right off the cliff.

"Oh, no, you sure as hell won't be doing that."

Peter suddenly felt two strong arms grasp his wrist and, using the momentum of his jump, the person swung Peter right back up onto the cliff.

Dark eyes met Peter's completely contrasting sapphire ones.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Edmund asked, his eyes narrowed.

Peter sighed. "Look, Edmund, you're too young to understand" he began, but Edmund cut him off.

"I understand a hell of a lot more than I'm given credit for!" he exclaimed. "What were you thinking just now?"

Peter's eyes turned towards the ground. He tried to stand, but Edmund's hands held him firmly on his knees. Finally, he confessed: "I'm just a burden."

Edmund stared at Peter in shock.

"You're mad," he whispered, then said, "Peter, you're no burden. You've helped Narnia so much over the three years you've been ruling."

Now, it was Peter's turn to interrupt.

"But what about the last fight?!" Peter bellowed suddenly. "Because of me, we lost almost half the army, not to mention Susan and several other archers when the enemy's archers came forth! I hardly did anything! Edmund, it was you who took down their leader!"

Edmund glared at him.

"And that makes you a burden?" he snarled. "I hardly fought at all! You killed at least thirty of the enemy! Me, five, including the leader! You were too busy, and I was nearly free, so I decided to take on the leader!" He tightened his grip on Peter. "You're not a burden!"

"In our first war ever," Peter continued, "who all died because of me?! That centaur general, Oreius, was turned to stone and crumbled because of me! That unicorn I was riding died because I was the one riding it! Hell, you almost died with a sword through your gut!"

Edmund let out a frustrated snarl.

"You almost did, too," he replied. His patience with Peter was running too thin. "If the Witch hadn't looked up, seen Aslan, then hesitated those five seconds before she was tackled, you would've had a sword through your heart."

Peter almost groaned.

"Edmund, you don't understand!"

"Yes, I do," Edmund insisted. "You blame yourself for all the deaths in the previous war, when really, that's what happens in every war!"

Peter silenced, now staring at him.

Edmund, a small hope flaring within him, continued. "Every war has deaths. Some have a damaging amount of them. No war can be won without sacrifices," he stated in a low voice.

Peter remained quiet for a moment, and Edmund was hardly daring to hope that he had finally talked some sense into Peter.

No such thing had happened.

"But I'm still a burden," he whispered.

Edmund squeezed his eyes shut and growled with sheer anger. He opened his eyes and stood, dragging Peter up with him. He released his older brother.

"You jump, I jump," he snarled.

"What?" Peter asked, his eyes widening with shock.

"You jump, I jump," Edmund repeated. "I'm more of a burden than you are! If you're such a bad burden, then I'm surely a horrible one! And I'm not even the stone pillar holding our family together!"

Peter, thinking about that last sentence with surprise for a moment, shook his head. "Edmund, you can't"

"But I will. You jump, I jump. Simple as that," Edmund interrupted. "I'm way more of a burden than you are. Mr. Tumnus was captured and turned to stone because of me. The Witch was able to follow you to Aslan's camp because of me."

"Ed, you've redeemed yourself for those. You have no need to feel the guilt for those."

Edmund could take the interruptions no more. He shot forward, grasping Peter by the front of his tunic. "Aslan died to save me!" he shouted.

Peter sighed. "But he came back."

"That doesn't change the fact that he died!" Edmund argued. "And you do realize that you just spoke words to me that you should be speaking to yourself? For the deaths in the first war, you've redeemed yourself! You have no need to feel guilt for them! You kill yourself now, you'll be a complete coward."

He practically spat the last word.

Edmund let go of Peter and took a step back. "You jump, I jump."

Peter hesitated. He knew he couldn't jump off with a threat like that. Finally deciding to think about Edmund's words, Peter sighed.

Edmund stood there for several minutes, waiting. He was surprised that his patience had made this marvelous of a comeback. He only stood there, arms crossed, glaring right into Peter's distant eyes. He wasn't even allowing himself to hope this time.

Finally, Peter murmured, "Fine. You're right, Ed."

The words didn't even sound forced, but Edmund wouldn't lay off that easily.

"I want you to actually know this, Peter," he continued. "Not just say you do!"

Peter gazed into Edmund's hard eyes, and, for once, Edmund saw Peter's child self, the side that needed someone to comfort them.

"I know, Edmund. I do," he said.

Edmund let his glare soften to a simple look, and he smiled.

"Good. Now, let's just get on back to Cair Paravel, now, shall we?"

_The Next Morning_

Susan was planning on talking to Peter. He hadn't been himself lately.

But, by the time she got to the banquet hall, Peter was already there, with Edmund by his side. Both boys were laughing, obviously exchanging jokes.

For the first time in awhile, the laughs actually reflected in Peter's eyes.

Susan now understood that she needn't talk to Peter. Edmund already had.

Back at the table, Peter suddenly grew serious as he murmured to Edmund to keep Susan from hearing, "Thanks for everything from last night, Ed."

Edmund smiled at him. "Don't mention it. That's the great thing about brotherhood."

He took a bite of food, swallowed, then spoke again.

"You train, I train. You fight, I fight." His smile grew to a grin. "You try to commit suicide, I save your retarded ass."


End file.
